When Ducati recently introduced their “Diavel,” they would have you believe it was a brand new idea to name one of their models a devil, well, not so much. Mark Savory of MotoCreations, has been building his DesmoDevil for years and I was reminded of that when Ricky Gonzalez sent me some photos of the HyperDevil. Ricky is the owner and as you can see from the MotoCreations website, it was shipped unfinished so Ricky could do the final paint and assembly. The paint by Peter Weber custom is a lot more like you would expect on a cruiser but it’s obviously a very high quality job. Final assembly was done with help from Race City Powersports.
The frame is a one off custom, not a cut and bent original, only the neck comes from Ducati. The engine is a 944cc from a 2000 Ducati ST2. The rest of the parts are more Ducati high performance than custom chopper, though there are certainly chopper inspired pieces, too. The frame, fuel tank, triple trees, handle bars, rear sets and exhaust were done by Mark Savory at Motocreations. The fuel tank was split and widened to fit all the electronics under it. Ricky ran through a list of some of the other parts; Olins R&T forks, Penske Rear Shock, Speedymoto Pressure Plate and slave cylinder, milled clutch engine side cover, billet oil filter, billet belt cover, Moto Master front rotors and a Gaffer rear rotor, Motocyco Grenade reservoir, Beringer billet brake and clutch master cylinders, MadDuc rear caliper mount and wheels are from a MH900E.
Ricky took a stock 916 tail, modified it and integrated the brake lights and blinkers. He also fabricated the lower fairing. According to Ricky, the finished bike weighs in at only 305 pounds, which is really light.
Ducati based customs don’t sit well with some of the faithful who expect only corner carvers and the HyperDevil is not what you usually expect when you think Ducati powered, but whatever your pleasure, the work on this bike is very well done. And when Ducati starts talking about their “new” Diavel cruiser, you might remind them it’s already been done.
Link: Race City Powersports
Link: MotoCreations
Bob says
Remember in the remake of the movie “The Fly” — at the end where the Jeff Goldblum/The fly grabs the end of his girlfriend’s shotgun and directs it toward his own head to end his misery… I think this bike would do the same thing if it could….
mark says
That poor Ducati…
Brij says
Will give the man an ‘A’ for attempt! the idea behind his bike is encourage-able but his styling needs a lot of refining. Right now it looks just garish! I think , he needs to loose the tail, definitely loose the radiator shrouds! maybe come up with a rear tire hugging rear fender, flow the tank a little better, and it might have a fighting chance to pull it off! Please lose that paint too! that is just blinding my eyes!!
Phoebe says
Ugh, no. At least the Diavel pulls it off better, not that I’m terribly keen on that bike either. The whole Ducati cruiser thing just rubs me the wrong way.
Gunner says
Strange, the unfinished bike look better than that orange thing. Nice engineering, but perhaps not the best overall match. Even the Ducati off-road bike shown here has a better stance, despite being well off the mark.
B50 Jim says
Sure, it’s a mess, but give the guy credit for using desmo engine in a custom. I applaud anyone who goes with a non-Milwaukee mill for a project. The non-painted version does look better. He went to a lot of work for little gain. The finished version looks like something Big Daddy Roth would have done after a few bad trips.
FREEMAN says
Duchopper.
Chaz says
The build and finish quality is very good, and I don’t object that a Duc engine and chassis was used. It’s an ST2, lighten up guys. I would like to see a rider on it as the ergos look…uh…different.
Chaz
Paul Y says
Totally agree with B50 and Gunner, the unfinished bike looks way better. When I saw the first pic it was a hard choice between blowing my lunch and wanting to gouge my eyes out. This thing makes a slammed and stretched Hayabusa look good (and I can’t stand good bikes made unfunctional).
I have liked or at least appreciated everything I’ve seen on this sight, up to this thing. This strikes me as a waste of talent and resources
NIck5628 says
Its cool, mostly due to its uniqueness. I dont like lower cowl things, but whatever.
Alister says
lower fairings = fail HARD, otherwise its not so bad. A+ for effort
Richard Gozinya says
That lower fairing, and the eye sore paint job are the worst parts, other than that, interesting idea.
Eli Pollard says
You are a tough crowd! lol We at Racecity Powersports helped Ricky with final assembly with this bike. Weather you like it or not this bike is amazing up close. I have personally ridden it and the riding position is not far from stock seating. This bike handles more like a sport bike than cruiser. No matter what it looks like from the pictures it rides great. Ricky had it at Deals Gap in NC and was out handling many sport riders. The paint is unbelievable in person. You may not like the color or design but the quality is great. Its one of the best paint jobs I’ve seen in a long time. As a matter of fact everything on this bike is top notch quality. The pictures do no do this bike justice. We are not affiliated with Ricky but, after reading all the reaction I felt I needed to add my 2 cents since I have seen this bike up close.
Tom says
Why is it that when it comes to motorcycle customs, this is ALL that Americans can do? Seriously, this is it. As a country of motorcycle “artists” they are all one trick ponies.
Andrew says
Sacrilege!
Rich says
This monstrosity is the motorcycling equivalent of “grills” as teeth caps. The paint is utterly garish and the radiator cowling is nonsensical. Why? Is poor taste the new standard for one off bikes?
John McDowell says
I like the minimalist idea too. Show the motor, hide the wires, disguise the radiator. Simple “winglets” or side covers for the radiator would have been a little more pleasing to my eye. However, GREAT WORK. Lets see another, in a Ducati RED theme.
Sportster Mike says
Not quite to my taste – but I like the 4 exhausts poking out the side
Don’t all knock him if its not your STYLE – the engineering is still good
and its HIS bike not yours so maybe you would have a more subtle paint job?
It does remind me though of the young kids cars here it the UK (all bling and sound in their case and no go)
kneeslider says
Most readers here are not fans of this style, no surprise, but some of you are missing a point I was making, the Ducati Devil or “Diavel” isn’t a new name for a Ducati powered cruiser. Also, this bike is lightweight, probably lighter than what many of the critics are riding, possibly faster and very likely of a higher build quality. Ricky also did a lot of the work on this bike, could the critics do as well?
Some of you are also assuming this bike doesn’t handle, though, from the accounts of those who have seen it at Deals Gap, you would be mistaken.
Don’t let the paint throw you. Don’t confuse this Ducati with the average wide tire, air bagged V-Twin custom. They’re not even close.
Rich says
I am of the impression that few if any are confusing the project’s garish appearance with it’s purported handling qualities. It is light and handles well for the type of bike it is – a cruiser. Fine. It is still a visual disaster. I do not understand cruiser builders desire to use orange metallic paints. I recall some have even chosen a “root beer” colored paint scheme. I say this seriously: have any of these builders been tested for color-blindness which is fairly common in males?
I am sure the bike has been built to very high quality standards and with great craftsmanship. That – in and of itself – does not make it beautiful (or attractive – which I assume was part of the design brief).
Ian says
If you build something that has cruiser proportions and give it a naff generic cruiser paint job then it’s going to be lumped in with the custom cruisers, whatever the quality of finish.
I often think it’s grasping at the last straw when it comes down to “but the build quality is excellent”. If that’s the best thing about it then it’s missing the mark by some margin.
I’m not usually a cruiser man by any stretch but the raw unpainted bike looks interesting. Things go downhill with the radiator cowl, modified tail to accommodate the ‘comfy’ seat and the paint. Strange as it may be, giving this a standard Ducati red paint job would have been more different than the seen-a-million-like-it metallic tribal/flame.
Yeti B. says
My son bought a CBR that was painted a similar color. Named it Trogdor.
Gunner says
Anyone with the ability to create and build something should always ask if it is good to go ahead just because it can be done. Taste is very subjective, but it is interesting that so many of us find the cruiser group so tacky and tasteless. And even if I don’t like what Ducati has done with their Diavel, I must say it is a better looking bike than this. Any Ducati engine in a decent frame will outhandle most other cruisers, but that doesn’t mean they are anything but poser’s bikes at heart.
Swagger says
My Grandfather was a wise old guy, died before his time. He told me something when I was a kid that stuck.
“Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should….”
That being said, I hate the appearance of the orange bike. I can’t stand the radiator shroud and for some reason the orange bars make me want to punch a nun.
(I could…but I won’t…..see how that works? hehe)
The stripped down version in the bottom pic however tells a different story all together. A story of stoplight hooliganism, beating up on squids and taking their vacuous girlfriends home for an exposition on the beauty of the torque wrench. Paint it Ducati red and ride the tires off of it!
Nicolas says
Paul Jr Design meets Massimo Tamburini
mattg says
When haters have nothing to say they get on the internet and say it. Fellas if you don’t have anything nice to say keep your yaps shut.
JOBIE says
That lower cowling totally covers the best part of the bike, the engine…..
garrett says
This motorcycle was at the CBA Charlotte Swap Meet a month or so ago (in fact Im quite sure thats where the one picture was taken (that has the carpet under it)).
I saw it.
I laughed.
I think its horrible.
I do like the fact they made a frame that looks similar to stock.
The exhaust is hideous.
Paint, the same.
As for it handling, maybe there were a bunch of slow bikes up at the Gap that weekend….
Eric says
Garrett, You’ve got to be kidding . I was at the same show and saw this bike. The paint was amazing as for the exhaust I thought the double shot gun was very unique especially for a V Twin. When I was at the show there was a crowd around the bike and I heard nothing but good comments. Its no cookie cutter bike like most choppers out there this one looked well thought out and was built with top quality. The welds were great, the frame design well thought out. I would have made the fairing a bit smaller but that’s just me. I was with a group of 4 guys and although we don’t always agree none of us thought it was horrible. Its my guess you don’t get up to the Gap very often. Were there at least twice a month from may to august and there is never a day when there are slow bikes there. Comments like that just give you opinion no credibility. Seems like you just want to jump on the bashing bandwagon